The Hunger
by Beansxx
Summary: Sora is starving, and he doesn't know why Donald and Goofy won't let him eat. Though it's breaking their hearts, they know that they would risk anything to save him. Even friendship.


This one's kinda' gross, but meh.

Oneshot for you guys! -heart-

- - -

"Now, stay still, Sora."

The keyblade bearer lay upon the bed in the back room of the gummi ship. He was strapped down with the belts from his very own pants, starving, sobbing, and staring up at Donald and Goofy with fear in his wide, weakness-dulled blue eyes. It had been Donald to speak, averting his gaze from Sora's face as he fastened the boy's ankles to the metal bars at the end of the bed. Goofy stood to Sora's left, cutting up a clove of Garlic at the bedside table. Both Sora's eyes and mouth watered at the poignant aroma, and though he knew that raw garlic's acidic juices burned to the taste, he wanted it. He _needed_ it.

"Wha...why...why are you doing this? Why are you doing this to me?!" he choked, fresh tears spilling as he turned his head from the delicious smell. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva as his stomach groaned loudly and uncomfortably. Painfully. "I thought you were my friends!"

Both companions winced slightly at the hurt words. They knew that Sora was in great pain from his hunger. They hadn't let him eat in many days. They hadn't wanted to be even more cruel, so they never ate in front of him all the while. Even then, they limited themselves to bland foods such as porridge and saltine crackers, and they held off eating strictly until the brunet was asleep in the back the gummi ship.

They had to avoid fighting, to allow the weakening hero to his rest; to allow him to cry out his frustration in solitude, locked in his room night and day. They stayed on the gummi ship at all times, avoiding contact with anyone else who might take unknowing sympathy on the boy and feed him.

Donald and Goofy did not want to tell Sora why he was wasting away. He would get scared; he might struggle in the process of removing that which was slowly killing him. He had been starving even before Donald and Goofy had stopped feeding him; the mage and the knight had first noticed when Sora was becoming weaker and weaker in battle. When every one of his visible appendages became visibly thinner.

All of this was happening while Donald and Goofy watched Sora eat and eat, desperately, _frantically_ trying to sate the hunger that plagued him, only to lose himself pound by pound.

Donald and Goofy hated to hurt the young warrior. It broke their hearts to hear him cry every night, uttering wishes for death because his friends didn't love him anymore, and were trying to kill him.

They worried that he might resort to suicide somehow, but he didn't, and though they were puzzled by it [for anyone would have surely given up on life by now], they were thoroughly relieved.

In his room, however, Sora still clung desperately to a small sliver of hope that this was all for his own good, or for some otherwise righteous cause.

- - -

Sora's hope was shattered when he was finally strapped down, secured to the bed, and his nose was assaulted with the delicious scent of fresh garlic which he knew he couldn't have. Goofy finished cutting it and leaned over Sora, who watched him with sad blue eyes which dejectedly asked, _"How could you?"_

But Goofy knew exactly how.

He rubbed the bits of garlic on and around Sora's lips. The boy licked at it viciously, the acidic juice burning his lips and tongue. He groaned in pain as the terrible burning sensation plagued his mouth.

Goofy turned away, unable to listen to his friend's pain.

Sora's face contorted into a grimace as he began to wail, screaming why, why were they torturing him like this? Why did they insist on tormenting him when he was already waiting; no, _praying_ for death?

Neither answered as they went about their business. Soon, they left, and Sora was alone in the dark.

- - -

Goofy came back periodically over the expanse of several long, agonizing hours to give Sora water and to rub more of the stinging garlic juice around his mouth, which Sora always licked away in an attempt to stop the burning. Soon, while Goofy was not there, Sora began to feel a strange, uncomfortable pressure in the upper-half of his stomach. It felt like something was moving inside him, snaking through his insides. He whimpered.

_"What's going on?!"_

Trembling, Sora cried silently, sobbing softly into the darkness as the pressure continued, gradually growing higher in his chest, leaving more pressure in its wake.

- - -

Both Donald and Goofy came back soon enough, flicking on the light, and sat on either side of the bed. Goofy applied the garlic juice again before putting a large, warm hand over Sora's sunken stomach.

"How are ya' doin' Sora?" he asked. "Do ya' feel anythin'?"

Sniffing, Sora narrowed his eyes. "A lot of things, actually." he began. "Betrayal, hurt, _hunger_...take your pick." he spat venomously. The pressure in his esophagus was getting higher and higher, and Sora felt like any minute he would start gagging. There was something in there; he knew it. He could feel it, climbing up his throat. It wanted out.

"We know you're hurting." Donald said. "But I promise, we're only trying to help you." he soothed, brushing Sora's bangs from his forehead.

"_Help_ me! _That's cute_; you're trying to _help_ - " he was interrupted by a violent, convulsing gag that wracked his weak frame from head to foot. Donald and Goofy tensed.

"Donald, d'ya think - "

"Yes, Goofy!" Donald squawked. "Get the stick! Put the garlic on it!"

Sora's head whipped from Donald to Goofy, back to Donald, then once more to Goofy. "Stick?! What the hell is - " another gag wracked his body, and Donald put one feathered wing to his lips.

"Shhh!" he hushed. "Don't talk. Just open your mouth, and try not to swallow. Just breathe through your nose. Please, just trust us. Just a few more minutes, Sora, and Goofy and I will give you the biggest meal you've ever had." he promised. "We promise. We _promise_." The duck looked near tears as the garlic-juice-soaked stick was handed to him. "Goofy, cover his eyes and talk to him." he instructed. Sora had no time to query as Donald held the stick just above his mouth, and Goofy immediately set his large hand gently over Sora's eyes.

"Sora, don't move." Goofy said softly. "When Donald's done, we're gonna take ya' to Hollow Bastion, and we're gonna have Aerith and Cid make ya' a huge meal. You'll have steak and peas, 'mashed potatoes, carrots and stew..." Goofy continued, whispering words of comfort to the brunet. He calmed the terrified boy with promises of cakes and pies and muffins, of soups and fish and rice and ice cream.

Of course, he meant every word. He and Donald had steered the gummi ship to Hollow Bastion, and visited everyone while Sora slept. They told the story of Sora's plight and promised all of their friends in Hollow Bastion all of the munny they had to offer if they would please, _please_ make a huge meal for Sora, with explicit instructions to make sure that _absolutely everything_ was thoroughly washed before being fully-cooked. Aerith, of course, declined the munny in favor of the satisfaction of contributing to Sora's salvation.

And there they hovered, right above Hollow Bastion.

Meanwhile, Donald stood by Sora's head. He heard Sora's breath hitch as he saw the creature stretched out deep within Sora's body poke its ugly head out of his throat. He knew that Sora wanted to ask what it was. "Don't talk." Donald firmly reminded the boy as the creature latched its hooked teeth onto the stick, searching for the food it had smelled.

Donald began to slowly roll it up, tugging gently at it. He was very meticulous and calm, reminding Sora softly to breathe through his nose and remain unmoving, and to just let his saliva build up and spill out; that he could not swallow, or he would not be able to eat. He joined in with Goofy's gentle promises of delicious foodstuffs, promising Sora that he would be full to bursting by the end of the night, and they would get back to finding Riku and the King again in no time.

- - -

It was dark behind Goofy's hand, and Sora could feel the whatever-it-was sliding along the delicate lining of his throat. The very feeling was enough to make him gag, but as he had been advised not to or his hunger would drag on, he used all of his willpower to suppress it. The feeling dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. He could hear the slick sound of the smooth, pliant thing leaving his throat inch by inch, and he wondered just how long it was.

Donald and Goofy's words were comforting. Sora realized that they had been scared for him, as was proven when they immediately jumped into action the very moment he first gagged. The looks on their faces, the terror in their trembling voices as they desperately tried to keep him calm and steady told him that he _was_ loved. They were trying to save him from this...this..._whatever-it-was_ that their eyes seemed to hate when they glanced down at his stomach for the many days they had starved him. His trust in them was fully restored, and he was counting on them to save him.

Which brought up a question that he needed to ask when this was finally over: What _was_ that whatever-it-was? Was it the reason why he was always hungry? Was that the reason why Donald and Goofy had stopped feeding him?

For all three males, the process dragged on forever. Sora could have sworn he had heard Donald mumble under his breath a bewildered, "Just how long is this thing...?!" It might have been half an hour to two full hours before Goofy lifted his hand from Sora's eyes, and the pressure was leaving his throat quickly. Sora opened his eyes just in time to see the tail of a long white _thing_ leave his throat, and his esophagus was officially clear. He saw Donald pull it up and the stick he had been holding was almost completely taken up with three inches thick of the rolled-up thing.

"That's gotta' be at least eleven feet long!" Goofy exclaimed in shock as he began to remove the belts that held Sora down. When he was finally freed, he knelt up on the bed and dry-heaved over the side. It was a good five minutes before his stomach stopped convulsing, and the nothing in his stomach stopped attempting to escape.

"Wh-what the hell _is_ that thing?!" he shrieked, hurling himself backwards into Goofy's chest, trying to hide from it.

"It's a tapeworm." Goofy said. "We didn't wanna tell ya,' 'cause it would'a been harder to get it outta' ya'." he stroked Sora's hair, trying to calm him again. Donald glared hatefully at the parasite in his hands.

"It was eating up all the food that went to your stomach, so it got all the nutrition in the food instead of you." he said. "Everything you ate went straight to it, and it was killing you. We couldn't let that happen, so we had to starve it, but in the process, we had to starve you." Donald then lowered his eyes to the floor.

"It broke our hearts to hurt ya' so badly, but it was the only way to save ya'." Goofy held Sora tightly in a comforting hug, which Sora returned as best he could in his weakened state.

"We hoped against hope that you'd survive the treatment..." Donald muttered. "We prayed that it wouldn't kill you...we...we wished against wish...that _we_ wouldn't kill you...oh Sora...please, forgive us!" Donald cried, dropping the stick and tapeworm and rushing over to the bed, where he sandwiched the boy in between himself and Goofy.

For a long time, the three friends just remained sitting on the bed, embracing each other, crying, uttering their apologies and forgiveness to each other. Finally, Donald let go and Goofy gathered Sora up into his arms. They brought Sora down to Hollow Bastion, where friends greeted them and cheered Sora's survival. All stood 'round and watched as Donald hatefully destroyed the tapeworm with his strongest Firaga spell, making sure it was absolutely, unequivocally dead before dumping the ashes into a nearby trash can, never to plague another human.

I remembered a story I was told once about tapeworms and the olden-days method of removing them.

So, with no medicine available, this is what Donald and Goofy resort to. So don't go bashin' 'em.

If any of you feel so inclined, fan art of this would be deeply appreciated [and possibly rewarded with a oneshot of thine own, theme and pairing of thine own choosing].

Also, for the record, Donald couldn't use a cure spell. If Sora had been suffering from a virus or bacterial disease, he would have cured him on the double. But Sora had a tapeworm, which is another living creature that was feeding off of him. Casting cure on Sora would have had the same effect on the tapeworm inside of him, and Sora would have died before they would have been able to save him.

Hence why cure wasn't used.


End file.
